SoxBlanco

I’m really excited to see what Thorpe looks like after he returns. I’ve probably been higher on him than most.

Here’s the rationale provided by AI: (Oh boy, this feels too much like a caulfield post. I apologize in advance.) The rule feels counterintuitive at first, but it’s really about leverage, player development, and keeping the amateur pipeline stable. Here’s the rationale, step by step: First, MLB wants a clear choice point for players. High school seniors are at a natural decision moment: go pro now or go to college. If they’re drafted, they can sign and start their professional careers immediately. If they don’t like their draft position or bonus, they can choose college instead. That’s a clean fork in the road. Once a player enrolls in a four-year college, MLB wants that choice to “stick” for a while. Making college freshmen draft-eligible would create chaos, with players constantly bouncing between college and pro ball after just a few months. Second, it protects college baseball programs. If freshmen were draft-eligible, top recruits could be drafted again immediately after arriving on campus. Coaches would have no roster stability. Imagine building a team around a freshman ace or shortstop, only to lose him to the draft six months later. The current rule ensures schools get at least three years of development and contribution from elite players. Third, it balances bargaining power between players and teams. High school players have leverage because they can threaten to go to college. College juniors and draft-eligible sophomores have leverage because they can threaten to return to school. College freshmen would have almost no leverage. They’d already be enrolled, already used a year of eligibility, and wouldn’t yet have proven themselves at the college level. MLB teams could draft them cheaply, which is something the players’ union historically wanted to avoid. Fourth, it encourages development rather than churn. MLB prefers that players either: enter pro ball immediately out of high school, or spend meaningful time developing physically and mentally in college. A single freshman year often isn’t enough to evaluate true growth, and allowing drafting after just one college season would push teams toward speculation rather than development. Finally, the three-year rule creates a predictable system. A player at a four-year college becomes draft-eligible after: their junior year, or turning 21 years old. That gives MLB scouts, colleges, and players a shared timeline. Predictability matters in a system that spans thousands of players and dozens of levels of baseball.

What do you got vs a LH?

Figured it would be nice to have to have an ongoing offseason thread to discuss potential lineups. Feel free to make a separate one for facing a righty/lefty. As more moves are made, we can update predictions, but for now, assume Robert is still on the team.

Yeah, he turns 7 in a couple years.

Thanks for all the replies. This will be a very telling year for him with all the hype and expectations.

How was Roch rated coming out of high school? I like guys who always seem to be highly regarded and then keep living up to the expectations.

I take it you’re fine with the Sox not protecting him?

Mead was more likely to get on base in any given plate appearance last year than the Sox were to win the draft lottery. That tells you how fortunate we should feel right now.

Roch Cholowsky

My fingers are crossed, but I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s still much more likely that we don’t end up with the top pick, even though we have the best odds.

Happy December, everyone. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Figured this thread would be about the draft lottery. With no significant signings anticipated, the lottery is all we care about, right?

Did you just mix and match first and last names of former A’s players, or are those actual members of the White Sox?

Thanks for posting this. Good stuff. @Y2Jimmy0, was it you who said Carlson is the better prospect, without question, back when we drafted him? I recall somebody saying that.

Everyone should be thanking YOU. Phenomenal job every year with these threads.

Barons up 5-0 after 4. McDougal is dealing. Zero hits, zero walks, and 6 K’s through 4.

That’s great news. Love it.

Brutal loss for the Barons. Blew a 6-0 lead and lost 8-6.

That’s awesome. I knew he had a solid year, but I didn’t realize it was that good. Also nice that he got a taste of A+ ball and put up a cool 1.020 OPS in those 11 games.

Yeah, that’s why it’s so unique. I wonder if it has ever happened since the rule change.

When’s the last time you’ve seen a team enter the 9th up by one run, use three different pitchers in the inning, and walk away with a victory without giving up a run?

Update: At the start of the year, I told myself the Sox need to win 5 out of every 16 games to get to 50 wins (and then they’d still have two games to spare). So I will break the season into ten different 16-game chunks. I’ll update every time we finish another 16 games. Here are the results: 4-12 5-11 5-11 7-9 4-12 7-9 10-6 3-13 10-6 Total: 55-89, on pace for 62 wins.

Why is nobody mentioning that Hagen pitched tonight? 4 IP, 2 ER, 7 K (nice), 4 BB (not nice)

Yeah, you mentioned that 5 comebacks in a row hadn’t been done since 1986. I was just adding that the 6 comebacks in a row had never been done in franchise history.

And that’s the first time they have ever won 6 in a row where all 6 were comeback wins.